11th Finglish trip August 2011 #28 The Esko Volunteer Fire Department was founded in 1949 by a very dedicated bunch of local men who knew very little about forming and operating a fire department.  However, they all had the desire and knowledge to protect lives and property of thier neighbors from the perils of fire. Jeff Juntunen has worked 36 years as chief of the Esko Volunteer Fire Department. Most of the Esko residents are descendants of Finnish, Norwegian and Swedish im

11th Finglish trip July 2011 #10 Suzanne is the descendant of Swedish immigrants, and Arthur Koski comes from Drummond Island, Michigan. Arthur’s grandparents on his mother's side, Miina and Johan Laakso, were given a 160-acre homestead on the island in 1906. They had come from Luvia, Finland to the Kreetan community via Finntown in Brooklyn. Arthur Koski, however, wanted to travel and give up his role as the only son in his family. He signed on an iron ore freighter sailing

11th Finglish trip July 2011 #6 Gustaf Nordenskiöld was a Swedish scholar of Finnish-Swedish descent who was the first to scientifically study the ancient Pueblo ruins in Mesa Verde. Nordenskiöld's collections from Mesa Verde were bought by a Finnish collector who eventually donated them to the University of Helsinki. They are now held by the National Museum of Finland. The Mesa Verdeans survived using a combination of hunting, gathering, and subsistence farming of crops such

9th Finglish trip October 2009 #6 The Adjustment Bureau is a 2011 American romantic science fiction thriller film loosely based on the Philip K. Dick short story "Adjustment Team". The film was written and directed by George Nolfi, produced by Chris Moore and stars Matt Damon and Emily Blunt. One of the scenes was filmed at the New York County Courthouse, at 60 Centre Street on Foley Square, Manhattan. Actor Matt Damon’s mother, Nancy Carlsson-Paige, has both Finnish and Swed

7th Finglish trip August 2008 #2 Susan is a retired teacher and a volunteer guide at the Rockport Museum. Her grandparents came from Lapua, Senäjoki and Kortesjärvi in Finland. Susan's father John Kielinen was very proud of his Finnish roots. In Kortesjärvi, Finland, there is a small village named Kielinen thus the family name. Her mother Sylvia nee. Jacobson was also of Finnish ancestry. Rockport at Cape Ann had consisted primarily of large estates, summer homes, and a small

6th Finglish trip December 2007 #4 John Kallunki, a third generation fisherman on the Columbia River, mainly catches salmon and smelt. His Finnish roots are in Kuusamo and Sievi. His grandfather Arvid with his three brothers and a sister came from Finland to Canada in the early 1900s. Arvid moved from Canada to the USA, first to Michigan and then to Oregon. In its 1,200 mile course to the ocean, the Columbia River flows through four mountain ranges and drains more water to th